$1 3^ural  ^ui1)e^  111 


DEPARTMEN^l    Ol'  <' 


BOARD  OF  HOME  MISSIONS  OF  THE  PME38YTERIAN  CHUR'. 
IN  THE  U.S.A. 


oirtn  H.  WiliOii,  i'\iAJ.,  ^upc-n 
Mis5  Anna  B.  T^,  Assistant 


fetwar    '  "~.T:-Tr..i 


6.  ir/,  \x 


PRINCETON.  N.J. 


'A 


%. 


MADE  BY  THE 

DEPARTMENT  OF  CHURCH  AND  COUNTRY  LIFE 

OF  THE! 

BOARD  OF  HOME  MISSIONS  OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 
IN  THE  U.  S.  A. 

Rev.  Warren  H.  Wilson,  Ph.D.,  Superintendent 
Miss  Anna  B.  Taft,  Assistant 

1  56  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 

The  Field  Work  of  this  investigation  was  done  by  Rev.  E.  Fred  Eastman 
and  Rev.  Anton  T.  Boisen 


a  JMisisouri  ^urtep 


The  Board  of  Home  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America  has  been  ministering  to  country  parishes  for  more  than 
a  century.  It  has  sought  farmers  through  forests  and  across  deserts.  It 
has  built  innumerable  little  white  churches  on  the  country  crossroads  for 
him  to  worship  in.  It  has  baptized  his  children,  taught  them,  married 
them  and  buried  them.  It  has  striven  to  save  his  soul — striven  earnestly 
and  valiantly,  sometimes  heroically.  But  never  until  within  this  year 
has  it  made  a  thorough,  official  and  scientific  study  of  the  country  com- 
munity it  has  attempted  to  serve.  It  has  done  everything  in  its  power 
to  pave  the  farmer's  road  to  the  Celestial  City,  but  it  has  paid  little  atten- 
tion to  his  road  to  the  nearest  village.  It  has  given  great  sums  to  allevi- 
ate poverty,  but  given  little  thought  to  the  causes  that  make  for  poverty 
— the  American  system  of  farm  tenantry,  the  robbing  of  the  soil  of  its 
fertility  and  stripping  the  hillside  of  its  trees.  It  has  pictured  the 
beauties  of  heavenly  mansions  and  taken  no  account  of  the  buildings  in 
which  men  and  women  must  spend  their  lives  here  and  now.  It  has  been 
a  faithful  steward  in  caring  for  the  Elysian  fields,  but  it  has  allowed  the 
riches  of  blue  grass  and  corn  and  wheat  fields  to  be  squandered  with 
prodigal  hand.  It  has  made  a  glorious  and  untiring  fight  to  teach  the 
children  God's  word  in  the  Bible,  but  it  has  left  God's  word  in  the  rivers 
and  hills,  the  grass  and  the  trees  without  prophet,  witness  or  defender. 
Hereafter  it  is  going  to  know  something  about  the  communities  it  at- 
tempts to  serve — of  what  stuff  they  are  made,  what  their  needs  and  their 
aspirations.  It  will  take  an  interest  in  the  everyday  affairs  of  the  farmer 
— his  crops  and  stock,  his  buildings  and  machinery,  his  roads  and  school, 
his  lodge  and  recreation.  The  spires  of  the  little  crossroad  church  will 
still  point  to  the  skies,  but  its  footstone  will  lie  on  the  commonplace  work 
of  the  day.  It  will  "preach  the  worth  of  the  native  earth,"  and  it  will 
look  upon  American  land  as  holy  land  to  be  guarded  as  a  sacred  trust  from 
the  Almighty  for  His  children  of  future  generations. 

METHOD 

The  survey  of  Adair,  Sullivan  and  Knox  counties,  situated  in  northeast 
Missouri,  is  one  of  the  first  attempts  by  any  church  at  a  detailed  scientific 
study  of  a  rural  community.  It  has  covered  three  counties — Adair, 
Sullivan  and  Knox — a  total  area  of  1,719  square  miles.     The  total  popu- 

3 


FIG.    I 


lation  of  this  territory  is  53,701.  The  unit  of  the  survey  was  the  civil 
township,  chosen  because  it  was  the  division  already  laid  out,  because 
it  was  the  basis  of  many  of  the  Government  statistics,  and  because  it 
made  a  fairly  uniform  geographical  unit.  Thirty-five  townships  in  all 
were  covered.     For  each  township  the  following  information  was  sought: 

1.  Its  Precise  Location,  Area  and  Topography. 

2.  Its  Economic  Conditions — Its  natural  resources,  mineral  and  vege- 
table; the  character  of  its  soil,  its  chief  products,  together  with  all  the 
surplus  shipped  out  of  corn,  wheat,  oats,  hay  and  live  stock;  the  size  of 
the  farm,  the  percentage  of  owners,  the  wages  and  treatment  paid  to 
agricultural  laborers,  the  quality  and  care  of  farm  machinery,  the  num- 
ber of  farmers  who  practise  a  scientific  rotation  of  their  crops,  the  number 
engaged  in  stock  feeding,  stock  breeding,  dairying,  fruit  growing  and 
truck  gardening,  the  number  who  drain  the  land,  the  number  who  use 
commercial  fertilizers,  the  percentage  of  increase  in  value  of  land  and 
its  cause. 

J.  The  Population — Of  village  and  rural  district,  the  inhabitants  per 
square  mile,  the  proportion  of  old  settlers,  the  condition  of  the  popula- 
tion, whether  stationary,  increasing  or  decreasing,  and  the  cause;  the 
number  and  nationality  of  the  foreign  born,  the  number  of  native  born 
of  foreign  parents,  and  the  number  of  illiterates. 

4.  The  Social  Mind — The  number  of  railroads,  the  percentage  of  the 
population  who  have  telephones  and  rural  free  delivery,  the  character 
and  condition  of  the  roads,  the  centers  of  informal  meeting,  the  leaders  of 
public  thought,  the  economic  standards  prevaiHng,  the  assemblies 
attended  by  all  in  common,  the  difference  in  costumes,  manners  and 
amusements,  the  types  in  which  a  consciousness  of  kind  can  be  observed, 
the  average  size  of  family,  the  total  number  of  families,  the  number  and 
kind  of  business  corporations  and  firms,  and  the  membership  and  average 
attendance  of  each  and  every  lodge,  secret  order  and  club. 

5.  Education — Each  school  was  taken  up  separately,  and  information 
sought  regarding  its  material,  style,  condition,  seating  facilities,  furniture, 
educational  apparatus,  heating  and  ventilatmg,  lighting,  water  supply 
and  toilets;  the  size  and  appearance  of  the  ground,  the  attempts  at  beauti- 
fication,  the  playground  facilities,  the  value  of  the  property,  the  assessed 
valuation  of  the  district,  the  levy,  the  per  capita  expenditure,  the  length 
of  session,  the  efl&ciency  of  the  school  board,  the  closeness  of  the  county 
superintendent's  supervision,  the  teacher's  salary,  qualifications  and 
tenure;  the  enumeration,  enrollment,  average  attendance,  number  of 
graduates,  number  going  away  to  higher  schools,  number  of  defective 
children,  the  organization  of  the  school,  the  number  of  twentieth-century 
subjects  in  the  curriculum  (elementary  agriculture,  manual  training, 
domestic  science,  music  and  drawing  and  physical  culture);  the  Ubrary, 

5 


the  number  of  volumes,  the  value,  the  increment  and  the  character  of 
the  selection;  the  number  of  entertainments  a  year,  the  other  purposes 
for  which  the  building  is  used,  and  the  need  and  practicability  of  consoli- 
dation. 

6.  Recreation  and  Morals — The  number  and  character  and  the  per- 
cent, of  the  comniunity  taking  part  or  interested  in  baseball  games, 
dances,  motion  picture  shows,  pool  rooms,  parks,  theatres,  bowling, 
basketball,  football,  lecture  courses,  literary  societies,  home  talent  plays, 
indoor  gymnastics,  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  tennis,  golf,  cards,  picnics,  entertain- 
ments, socials,  fairs  and  Chautauquas.  The  moral  conditions  among 
the  luimarried,  the  age  of  marriage,  the  moral  conditions  among  employed 
men  and  women,  the  tendencies  of  the  boys  of  the  communities  to  cigar- 
ettes and  criminal  practices,  and  finally  w^hether  or  not  the  moral  tone  of 
the  community  is  improving  or  the  reverse. 

7.  The  Religious  Conditions  and  Activities — Each  and  every  church  was 
taken  up  separately  and  studied  in  great  detail — in  fact,  too  great  detail 
for  the  patience  of  those  from  whom  the  information  was  sought.  The 
questions  covered  the  membership  ten  years  ago,  five  years  ago,  and  now, 
male  and  female;  number  of  services  per  month,  attendance  morning  and 
evening,  male  and  female,  and  the  purpose,  membership  and  attend- 
ance, male  and  female,  of  Sunday  Schools,  young  people's  societies, 
women's  societies  and  men's  clubs;  the  value  of  the  church  property, 
the  amount  of  encumbrance,  the  salary  of  pastor,  the  church  budget,  the 
material  equipment,  number  of  rooms,  condition  of  furniture,  appearance 
of  ground,  kind  of  heating  apparatus,  and  thirty  questions,  personal 
and  more  or  less  impertinent,  about  the  minister,  his  family,  his  life 
insurance  and  his  library.  Then  some  questions  about  abandoned 
churches,  the  number  of  people  in  a  township  who  attend  no  church,  the 
institutions  that  tend  to  satisfy  men  outside  the  churches,  the  general 
attitude  of  the  community  toward  religion,  and  the  prevalence  and  cause 
of  denominational  strife. 

8.  Social  Welfare — The  public  health,  number  of  persons  over  eighty 
years  of  age,  the  number  of  insane,  defective,  blind,  neurotic  and  deaf 
and  dumb;  the  number  of  professional  men,  wealthy  business  men, 
tradesmen,  farmers,  laborers  and  mechanics;  the  distribution  of  wealth 
and  the  community  improvements  of  the  last  five  years. 

p.  Maps — For  each  township  a  map  was  drawn  on  the  basis  of  a  mile 
to  the  inch,  showing  churches,  schools,  school  districts,  villages,  towns, 
stores,  roads,  primary  and  secondary,  and  railroads. 

Just  how  to  obtain  all  this  information  was  no  small  jiroblcm.  Some 
of  it  could  be  collected  at  the  county  seats,  from  the  books  of  the  county 
clerks,  assessors  and  treasurers,  from  the  reports  of  the  superintendents 
of  schools,  and  from  bankers,  grain  merchants  and  stock  buyers.     But 

6 


THE   BEST  COUNTY   CHURCH   IN    SULLIVAN   COUNTY 

by  far  the  greater  part  had  to  be  obtained  on  the  field  by  personal  observa- 
tion and  by  interviews  with  farmers,  school  teachers,  ministers  and 
physicians. 

The  field  work  in  the  survey  was  completed  in  three  months  under 
the  direction  of  the  Department  of  Church  and  Country  Life  by 
Messrs.  Anton  T.  Boisen  and  E.  Fred  Eastman.  They  worked  under 
the  immediate  direction  of  Rev.  William  C.  Templeton,  D.  D.,  pastor 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Kirksville,  and  of  Prof.  Harold  W. 
Foght,  of  the  State  Normal  School  at  Kirksville.  President  John  R. 
Kirk,  of  the  Normal  School,  extended  every  courtesy  to  the  field  men 
and  gave  them  facilities  for  ofiice  and  desk  work  in  the  school. 
Printing  and  photographic  service  of  the  school  was  put  freely  at 
the  disposal  of  the  survey  men,  and  their  introduction  to  the  three 
counties  under  survey  was  greatly  facilitated  through  the  friendly 
and  generous  help  of  the  leaders  and  the  friends  of  the  Normal 
School. 

Both  men  found  the  crowds  at  the  country  stores  not  only  interesting 
as  types  of  citizenship,  but  gold  mines  of  information  when  properly 
approached.  Much  difficulty  was  experienced  in  securing  data  for  indi- 
vidual organizations  and  institutions,  because  of  the  great  lack  of  sys- 
tematically kept  records  of  these  organizations  and  institutions.  Not 
lo  per  cent,  of  the  churches  could  give  accurate  information  concerning 
their  membership  five  and  ten  years  ago,  while  many  of  them  (and  the 
same  is  true  of  schools  and  commercial  agencies)  could  make  only  esti- 
mates of  their  present  condition. 

7 


FINDINGS 

The  summary  of  the  findings  of  the  survey  may  be  given  under  the 
heads  already  described: 

1.  Location  and  Topography — As  stated  above,  the  total  land  area 
covered  was  1,719  square  miles,  located  in  northeast  Missouri,  as  shown 
in  Fig.  I. 

Knox  County  is  largely  level  and  rolling  prairie  land  and  is  the  best 
farming  county  of  the  three,  Adair  contains  some  prairie  land,  but  is 
mostly  rolling  and  hilly  and  is  the  poorest  farming  land  of  the  three. 
Sullivan  is  mostly  rolling  and  hilly,  but  has  a  good  proportion  of  prairie 
land;  as  farming  land  it  is  better  than  Adair,  but  not  so  good  as  Knox. 

2.  Economic  Conditions — Table  A,  page  g,  shows  the  acreage  of 
each  county  and  the  money  value  of  the  surplus  products  shipped  out  in 
1909,  the  latest  statistics  available.  Only  two  townships,  Ninevah  and 
Morrow,  in  Adair  County,  mine  coal  in  any  quantity;  the  rest  of  the  land 
is  given  up  to  farming  and  grazing: 

Specialization  in  Farming — Corn,  oats,  hay,  wheat,  rye,  tobacco  and 
garden  vegetables  are  the  chief  products  in  the  order  named.  The  soil  is 
best  suited  for  corn.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  grain  is  fed  to  the 
stock  and  it  is  from  the  sale  of  stock  that  about  85  per  cent,  of  the  farmers 
have  their  chief  source  of  income.  There  is  very  little  gardening  or  fruit 
growing,  except  for  home  use.  The  surplus  quantity  of  dairy  products 
shipped  out  looks  large  (Adair  County,  $112,231;  Sullivan  County, 
$112,428;  Knox  County,  $53,961),  yet  there  are  very  few  farms  given 
over  exclusively  to  dairying.  There  is  no  creamery  in  the  territory  sur- 
veyed. The  breeding  of  thoroughbred  stock  is  more  common;  there  are 
fourteen  farms  in  Knox  County  devoted  to  this  purpose.  The  equipment 
of  the  farm  varies  largely  with  the  location  and  size  of  the  farms.  The 
large  farms  of  the  prairie  land,  as  a  rule,  are  well  equipped  with  good 
buildings  and  good  machinery.  Even  here,  however,  the  neglect  of  the 
machinery  is  shameful,  nearly  half  of  it  being  allowed  to  stand  out  the 
year  around.  The  farm  buildings  of  the  hill  country  are  not  as  good,  as 
a  rule,  and  a  larger  percentage  of  the  machinery  is  uncared  for.  In  one 
day's  drive  through  a  township  of  Adair  County,  of  53  houses  passed  24 
were  unpainted.  The  rotation  of  crops  is  beginning  to  receive  more 
attention  than  formerly,  but  there  are  still  very  few  farmers  who  practise 
the  rotation  advised  by  the  State  Department  of  Agriculture.  The  small 
farmers  and  the  renters  practise  a  short  rotation,  lea\'ing  the  ground 
to  rest  but  a  short  time  between  grain  crops.  Little  commercial  fertilizer 
is  used  and  only  a  few  farms  in  each  county  have  introduced  tile  drainage. 

Tenure,  Size  and  Value  of  Farms^PshoMi  85  per  cent,  of  the  farmers 
own  the  farms  they  operate;  the  remaining  15  per  cent,  are  tenants.     The 


TABLE     (A) 
ADAIR,  SULLIVAN    AND    KNOX    COUNTIES,  MO.      SUR- 
PLUS PRODUCTS,  1909.     MONEY  VALUE 


Live  stock 

Poultry  and  eggs 

Apiary  and  cane 

Farm  crops 

Vegetables 

Fruit 

Medicinal  products 

Nursery  products 

Wool  and  mohair 

Dairy  products 

Forest  products 

Fish  and  game 

Mine  and  quarry  products 

Mill  products 

Liquid  products 

Packing-house  products. . . 

Unclassified  products 

Total 


Adair 
570  Sq.  Miles 
367,000  Acres 


$788,825 

265,470 

707 

147,064 

28,610 

39,260 

214 

983 

26,027 

112,231 

75,220 

5,537 

859,501 

11,531 

243 

29,099 

5,217 


$2,395,739 


Sullivan 
656  Sq.  Miles 
418.000  Acres 


$1,858,890 

443,218 

1,372 

232,567 

13,653 

23,663 

131 

339 

38,025 

112,428 

31,842 

1,519 

12,220 

8,860 

357 

25,237 

13,700 


J,818,021 


510  Sq.  Miles 
330,000  Acres 


1,213,834 

212,086 

1,036 

154,618 

12,137 

7,686 

45 

1,030 

23,765 

53,961 

27,077 

5,360 

5,772 

4,090 

36 

19,110 

5,460 


■,747,103 


tables  B  and  C  show  the  percentage  of  the  various  classes  of  farms 
operated  by  owners  and  the  percentage  operated  by  tenants. 

The  size  of  the  farm  varies  from  20  acres  to  3,300  acres,  the  larger  farms, 
as  a  rule,  being  in  the  level  prairie  land  of  Knox  and  Sullivan  counties. 
The  average  size  per  farm  in  Knox  County  was  about  160  acres,  in  Adair 
County  about  100  acres,  in  Sullivan  County  about  147  acres.  On  the 
whole  the  1910  Census  statement,  that  farms  under  100  acres  are  decreas- 
ing in  number  and  those  between  100  and  1,000  acres  are  increasing,  holds 
good  here.  Land  is  valued  at  $35  to  $1,250  an  acre,  but  the  majority  of 
it  would  bring  from  $50  to  $60  per  acre.  It  is  assessed  at  a  fraction  of 
the  actual  value.  Fig.  II  shows  the  actual  value  of  an  average  prairie 
farm  compared  with  the  assessed  valuation. 

There  has  been  an  increase  of  a  little  over  100  per  cent,  in  the  value  of 
land  in  the  last  twelve  years;  the  reasons  for  this  increase  are  as  follows: 
(a)  The  higher  prices  for  farm  products,  (b)  The  growing  scarcity  of 
cheap  lands  in  the  far  West  has  turned  the  attention  of  buyers  toward 
Missouri,  (c)  Missouri  land  up  to  fifteen  years  ago  had  been  undervalued 
in  comparison  with  the  neighboring  States,  Illinois  and  Iowa.  This  was 
possibly  due  to  the  fact  that  she  had  been  a  slave  State,  and  to  the  stigma 
placed  upon  her  by  Jesse  James  and  the  Younger  Brothers  and  expressed 

9 


TABLE  (B) 

HOW  THE  LAND   IS   HELD.     BASED  ON   499  FARMS  IN 
SULLIVAN  COUNTY,  MO.     PRAIRIE  TYPE— 414  FARMS 


OPERATED  BY  OWNER 


Acres 
per  Farm 

Number 

Per  Cent,  of 
Total  Number 

Acreage 

Per  Cent,  of 
Total  Acreage 

Average  Size 

1-40 

40-  80 

80-160 

160-240 

-240 

32 

85 

121 

64 

50 

7.7 
20.5 
29.2 
15.6 
12.0 

1,205 

6,505 

15,528 

13,286 

21,486 

1.9 
10.0 
23.7 
20.3 
33.0 

37 
765 
128 
207 
430 

352 

85.0 

58,010 

OPERATED   BY   TENANT 


Acres 
per  Farm 

Number 

Per  Cent,  of 
Total  Number 

Acreage 

Per  Cent,  of 

Total  Acreage 

Average  Size 

1-40 

40-  80 

80-160 

160-240 

-240 

10 
16 
21 
10 
5 

2.4 

3.8 
5.0 
2.4 
1.2 

314 
1,133 
2,937 
1,880 
2,080 

.4 
1.8 
4.5 
2.8 
3.1 

31 

71 

139 

188 
416 

i        62 

14.8 

8,344 

in  such  phrases  as  "poor  old  Missouri."  (d)  Cheaper  rates  of  interest. 
(e)  The  generally  low  rate  of  taxation  throughout  the  rural  districts  as 
compared  with  neighboring  States.  (/)  In  Knox  County  the  railroad 
debt  has  been  paid  off. 

The  increased  value  of  land  has  had  some  important  effects,  as  follows: 
(a)  It  has  increased  the  wealth  of  the  community,  (b)  It  has  increased 
the  rental,  (c)  Many  small  farmers  have  sold  their  farms  and  moved 
to  cheaper  lands  in  the  West,  thus  making:  (d)  A  decrease  of  resident 
owners,  and  (e)  an  increase  in  the  size  of  farms,  as  the  small  farm  was 
usually  absorbed  by  a  larger  one.  (/)  Land  today  will  not  bring  a  6 
per  cent,  rental.     A  $10,000  farm  rents  for  $350  to  $450. 

Agricultural  Laborers — Agricultural  laborers  receive  from  $20  to  $30 
and  "keep"  per  month.  The  great  majority  of  them  are  the  neighbors 
and  the  owners  of  the  small  farms  who  help  for  a  few  days  in  the  busy 
seasons  of  the  year.  They  are  always  treated  as  equals;  in  fact,  the  diffi- 
culty in  securing  them  is  so  great  that  they  are  frequently  shown  con- 
siderable deference. 

3.  Population — As  stated  above,  the  population  of  these  three  counties 

10 


TABLE    [C] 


BRUSHLAND   TYPE— 85   FARMS 


OPERATED   BY  OWNER 


Acres 
per  Farm 

Number 

Per  Cent,  of 
Total  Number 

Acreage 

Per  Cent,  of 
Total  Acreage 

Average  Size 

-40 

40-  80 

80-160 

160-240 

-240 

13 

24 

23 

6 

3 

15.3 

28.2 

27.0 

7.0 

3.5 

466 
1,746 
3,027 
1,200 
1,070 

.05 
.19 
.33 
.13 
.11 

36 

73 

131 

200 

357 

69 

81.0 

7,509 

OPERATED  BY  TENANT 


Acres 
per  Farm 

Number 

Per  Cent,  of 
Total  Number 

Acreage 

Per  Cent,  of 
Total  Acreage 

Average  Size 

-  40 

40-  80 

80-160 

160-240 

-240 

5 

4 
4 
3 

5.8 
4.7 
4.7 
3.5 

168 
296 
519 
564 

01 
03 
05 
05 

34 

74 
130 

188 

16 

18.7 

1,547 

is  53,701.  Of  this  number  35,495  live  in  the  country,  5,551  live  in  23 
villages  under  750  population,  and  the  remaining  12,655  live  in  towns 
of  over  750  population.  Throughout  this  report,  where  towns  and  vil- 
lages are  mentioned,  the  same  standard  will  prevail — anything  under 
750  being  called  a  village  and  anything  over  that  a  town.  There  are 
20.5  inhabitants  per  square  mile  in  the  rural  district.  As  a  rule,  the 
towns  have  been  increasing  during  the  last  ten  years,  but  the  population 
of  the  rural  districts  has  been  decreasing  at  an  alarming  rate.  The 
increase  in  the  towns  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  decrease  in  the  country. 
In  spite  of  the  town  increase  the  total  population  of  these  three  counties 
is  1,788  less  than  it  was  ten  years  ago.  There  are  at  least  six  reasons  for 
this :  (a)  Smaller  families,  (b)  The  increased  use  of  farm  machinery  has 
lessened  the  need  of  farm  hands.  One  man  can  now  do  what  once 
required  two  or  three,  (c)  The  increased  value  of  land  has  induced  some 
farmers  (as  a  rule  the  owners  of  the  small  farm)  to  sell  out  and  go  to 
cheaper  lands  in  the  West,  (d)  The  younger  generation  has  been 
moving  out  to  seek  greater  opportunities  in  towns  and  in  the  cheaper 
lands  of  the  West,  (e)  Many  well-to-do  farmers  have  been  moving  to 
town  to  seek  better  social  environment  and  educational  facilities,  (f) 
The  retiring  farmers  have  been  moving  to  town. 

11 


CAN    THEY   AFFORD   IT? 


WHAT 

THE    AVERAGE    FARM  — 

IS  REALLY  WORTH. 

Liue  Stock 
$2000 

Machinp.rijS40C 

158  acres 
^7900 

WAS  ASSESSED  AT 

$£400 

$1603 

IN  1910 


IN  1911 


WHAT    THE   AVERAGE    COUNTRY    FAMILY   SPENDS 

$771.00  j^BJ^EIiHiBSG^^HIHB 

$I3.7S|  ON    ITS   SCHOOL. 

$6.00 1  ON    ITS   ROADS 

$3.18  I  ON    ITS  CHURCH. 

(370   Jamilves  in  SulUvan  Counttj,  M\3sour\) 


FIG.   11 


12 


WHERE   FARMING   IS   MATURE 


Of  the  present  population  about  90  per  cent,  of  the  families  are  old 
settlers — that  is,  have  resided  fifteen  years  or  more.  Of  these  a  small 
proportion  are  foreign  born,  coming  from  Ireland  or  Germany  some 
twenty-five  years  ago.  The  newcomers  are  (a)  the  Italian  and  Hun- 
garian miners  who  have  come  since  the  opening  of  the  mines  in  Adair 
County,  and  (b)  American  farmers  from  Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio  and  Ken- 
tucky. No  language  except  English  is  spoken  in  business  intercourse. 
Probably  2  per  cent,  of  the  whites  cannot  read  or  write. 

4.  Social  Mind — Means  oj  Communication — Six  railroads  touch 
some  part  of  these  three  counties — the  Wabash,  Omaha  and  Kansas  City, 
the  Qunicy,  Illinois  and  Kansas  City,  the  Santa  Fe,  the  Iowa  and  St.  Louis, 
the  Chicago,  Burlington  and  Quincy,  and  the  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and 
St.  Paul.  The  local  service  on  these  roads  is  miserable,  the  usual  schedule 
being  two  slow  trains  each  way  per  day.  There  are  no  trolleys  or  inter- 
urbans.  Practically  all  of  the  farmers  have  rural  free  delivery,  and 
about  83  per  cent,  of  them  have  telephones.  The  latter  have  had  an 
important  effect  on  the  social  life  of  the  people;  they  have  greatly 
decreased  the  number  of  visits  and  calls  between  houses  and  have  made 
obsolete  the  good  old  custom  of  farmers'  wives  of  taking  their  children 
and  their  sewing  and  spending  a  day  with  some  neighbor.  Moreover,  by 
the  present  party-line  system  they  have  developed  an  unseemly  interest 
in  other  people's  business.  When  the  'phone  bell  rings  along  a  party  line 
it  is  a  safe  assumption  that  there  will  be  an  ear  at  almost  every  receiver 
along  the  line.  On  the  other  hand,  by  making  communication  possible 
at  any  time  of  day  they  have  brought  the  farmers  much  nearer  each 

13 


other  and  help  to  do  away  with  the  isolation  toward  which  farm  life 
seems  to  tend. 

The  Roads — It  is  difficult  to  describe  the  roads  of  this  territory  in 
proper  English.  There  is  not  a  mile  or  an  inch  of  gravel  or  macadam 
road  in  the  length  and  breadth  of  these  three  counties.  All  are  of  dirt. 
They  are  laid  out  after  a  fashion  contrary  to  all  human  convenience — 
along  section  lines  and  with  entire  disregard  for  the  contour  of  the  land. 
To  be  sure,  there  is  here  and  there  a  ridge  road  (glorious  exception),  but 
as  a  rule  the  great  majority  of  the  roads  cling  to  the  section  line  with  a 
death  grip.  It  is  an  absolute  impossibiHty  to  travel,  as  these  survey  men 
did,  over  nearly  1,000  miles  of  such  roads,  sliding  down  one  hill  and  stall- 
ing on  the  next,  enduring  breakdowns  of  bicycles  and  buggies,  and  come 
to  the  end  of  the  summer  with  unruffled  tempers.  In  winter  there  are 
sometimes  weeks  at  a  time  when  they  are  impassable.  At  such  times  the 
Good  Roads  Movement  is  popular.  But  in  the  summer,  when  it  is  pos- 
sible to  drive  over  them  at  a  speed  of  three  and  a  half  or  four  miles  an 
hour,  the  Good  Roads  Movement  is  forgotten.  Aggravating  the  situa- 
tion are  the  culverts,  which  are  in  wretched  condition,  and  in  many  cases 
positively  dangerous.  The  county  officers — surveyors  and  engineers — 
are  not  to  be  blamed  for  this  state  of  affairs.     These  men  are  doing  the 


WHERE  THE  ROAD  SYSTEM   BREAKS  DOWN 
14 


THE  WAY  OF   SALVATION 


best  they  can  with  the  means  they  have.  The  checkerboard  plan  on 
which  the  roads  are  laid  out  must  be  charged  to  an  earlier  generation. 
The  present  condition  of  neglect  must  be  charged  in  part  to  the  lack  of 
adequate  government  provision  for  the  upkeep  of  roads,  to  the  present 
system  of  supervision  by  which  it  is  said  that  $70  out  of  every  hundred 
is  paid  for  salaries  of  surveyors,  engineers  and  supervisors,  and  only 
$30  left  for  actual  improvement,  and  most  of  all  to  the  lack  of  popular 
sentiment  strong  enough  to  fight  for  anything  better. 

Centers  of  Informal  Meeting — Which,  being  interpreted,  means  where 
people  meet  to  exchange  greetings,  ideas  and  gossip.  The  country  stores, 
the  streets,  restaurants,  pool  rooms  and  speak-easies  of  the  villages  and 
towns,  and  occasionally  the  lodge  halls,  furnish  such  centers  during  the 
week.  On  Sundays  it  is  the  custom  for  those  at  the  church  services  to 
remain  after  the  benediction  and  chat  informally  for  a  few  minutes  in 
the  church  building  or  upon  the  groimds.  This  is  the  meeting  place, 
too,  of  the  young  men  and  young  women,  who  pair  off  at  the  close  of  the 
service,  and,  getting  into  their  buggies,  race  each  other  home — when  the 
roads  permit.  For  the  children  there  is  no  place  to  meet  except  the  school 
ground,  and  this  for  but  a  few  minutes  a  day,  for  only  160  days  out  of  the 
year.  For  the  Italian  and  Hungarian  miners  there  is  no  place  of  meeting 
but  their  labor  union  halls,  which  are  open  but  one  or  two  nights  out 
of  a  week. 

The  Economic  Standards  of  the  Community — The  main  population 
divisions  are  three:    the  American  whites,  the  Italians  and  Hungarians 

15 


THE    SOCIAL    CENTER 


and  the  colored  people.  Among  the  American  whites,  including,  of 
course,  the  naturalized  Germans  and  Irish,  there  is  little  difference  in 
dress,  manner  or  customs.  A  splendid  democratic  spirit  prevails  in 
these  things,  although  there  are,  of  course,  numerous  small  cliques. 
These  cliques  are  rather  interesting  from  the  fact  that  they  seem  to  be 
incipient  class  divisions.  The  standard  in  the  town  seems  to  be  one  of 
dress,  tastes  and  general  congeniahty,  and  comparatively  free  from 
wealth  status.  The  cliques  in  the  country,  on  the  other  hand,  seem  to 
be  based  more  upon  a  wealth  standard,  the  young  men  of  wealthy  fami- 
lies who  have  good  horses  and  rigs  (sometimes  automobiles)  seldom 
cliquing  with  the  young  men  who  cannot  afford  these.  The  Italians  and 
Hungarians  keep  to  themselves  and  are  exclusive  and  clannish.  The 
colored  people,  of  which  there  are  but  few  and  these  confined  almost 
entirely  to  towns,  have  an  economic  standard  of  their  own,  but  they  form 
such  a  small  proportion  of  the  population  that  only  their  religious 
organizations  and  schools  were  studied. 

Lodge  and  Secret  Fraternal  Organizations — Table  D,  page  17,  shows 
the  lodge  membership  in  Knox  and  Sullivan  counties.  The  table  shows 
a  total  lodge  membership  of  53.5  per  cent,  of  the  adult  male  population  of 
Knox  County,  and  50  per  cent,  of  the  adult  male  population  of  Sullivan 

J6 


County.  These  figures,  however,  are  no  index  of  the  part  the  lodge  plays 
in  the  social  life  of  the  men,  nor  of  the  men's  desire  for  fellowship  and 
social  intercourse.  For  the  table  also  shows  that  those  lodges  which 
make  much  of  the  insurance  benefit  are  by  far  the  strongest  and  that 
the  average  attendance  per  meeting  of  the  lodge,  despite  the  fact  that 
many  of  them  meet  but  once  a  month,  is  but  32  per  cent,  of  the  mem- 
bership in  Knox  County,  and  29  per  cent,  of  the  membership  in  Sullivan 
County. 

Fig.  Ill  shows  what  the  lodges  are  doing  for  the  poor  man.  Taking 
the  size  of  a  man's  farm  as  a  criterion  of  wealth,  it  shows  that  but  a 
small  per  cent,  of  the  owners  of  farms  under  100  acres  are  lodge  members, 
the  percentage  increasing  with  the  amount  of  wealth.  Whatever  the 
cause  of  this,  whether  it  be  that  the  owners  of  the  small  farms  do  not 
want  to  belong  to  lodges,  or  cannot  afford  it,  or  that  the  lodges  make  no 
effort  to  secure  them,  the  fact  remains  that  the  lodge  is  not  reaching  the 
poor  man.  It  is  not  even  reaching  him  as  much  as  the  church  (which 
is  wofuUy  little),  as  a  comparison  of  the  two  sides  of  the  diagram  will 
show: 

5.  Education — In  these  three  counties  there  are  232  rural  schools,  23 
village  schools  and  22  town  schools.  Nearly  150  of  these  schools  were 
visited  by  the  survey  men.  Two  hundred  and  thirty-one  of  the  rural 
schools  are  frame ;  one  is  of  cement  block.  The  rural  schools  are  all  one- 
room  schools;  there  is  not  a  single  consolidated  school  in  the  three 
counties.  The  village  schools  have  from  one  to  four  rooms  each.  The 
town  schools  have  eight  to  ten  rooms. 


TABLE    [D] 


LODGE    MEMBERSHIP 


Knox 

Sullivan 

Membership 

Attendance 

Membership 

Attendance 

M.  W.  of  A 

867 
293 
354 
325 
151 
60 
24 

'75 

15 
22 

221 

104 

137 

107 

47 

15 

14 

26 

"'6 
9 

711 
1,016 

548 
230 

120 

'85 
218 

20 
157 

40 

165 

I.  0.  0.  F 

Masons 

250 
122 

Yeomen 

57 

K.  of  C 

K.  of  P 

25 

Catholic  Knights 

M.  B.  A 

Rebeccas 

R.  N 

87 
15 

E.  S 

50 

P.  S 

20 

Catholic  Ladies 

17 


low  im:  POOR  man  fares 


WHAT  THE  CHURCH 
FOR  HIM  AND  H 


Country     F'a  rni  /  i  t 

I  S    DOING 
S    FAMILy. 


Aileiulin<j  half  the  time  or  more 
y/^   fittiLndin-i  occu-siona/ly    ^ 
I    AlttiiUini)    nom, 


in    S  u  1 1  ivojx    Co.,    Mo. 

WHAT    THE    LODGE    IS    DOING 
FOR   HIM. 


Tentt'itt 

^ 

M 

Hii-ed  Men 

s 

^                      ^J"7. 

miers  wifi 
20 

♦  0 

j 

1 

in. 

(0 

^^ 

fOJ. 

90 

^ 

^^ 

71-1. 

100 

i 

v^^^ 

in. 

120 

«v^^^ 

6/7. 

/»0 

^ 

1 

.     .«%■■■; 

<.ri. 

1*0 

:   '^m  ^ 

cii. 

ISO 

nv. 

200 

SPJ. 

2»0 

jyy. 

300 

t        ^y7- 

3i0 

\        ^j;- 

•iia 

a         J  2/. 

SOO 

H             '''''■ 

too 
acres 

i     J//. 

|;;S^.,^    A/onyiiif   to  1  Lodjt 

[  [     /l^o/"  hclonainq    tt    any  Lodij 


JlXli. 


FIG.    Ill 


Adair  County  has  six  one-room  school  buildings,  built  on  model  plans, 
i.e.,  after  the  diagram  of  the  model  rural  school  on  the  campus  of  the 
State  Normal  School  at  Kirksville.  Knox  County  has  one  such  building. 
Sullivan  County  has  a  few  rural  schools  that  approximate  the  model 
plans.  The  buildings  in  Knox  County  are  generally  in  good  condition  as 
far  as  paint  and  repairs  are  concerned.  The  buildings  in  Adair  and 
Sullivan  counties  are  in  fair  condition  in  these  respects. 

An  interesting  feature  about  some  of  the  rural  schools  is  that  they  are 
placed  in  the  exact  geographical  center  of  the  school  district,  irrespective 
of  the  roads.  The  worst  school  in  this  respect  is  probably  McCauley,  in 
Knox  County.  It  is  over  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  nearest  road,  in 
a  creek  bottom,  and  in  the  middle  of  a  large  pasture  field  which  is  some- 
times flooded  in  winter;  the  building  is  in  a  wretched  condition — much 
weather  boarding  torn  off,  without  paint,  old-fashioned,  home-made 
furniture,  unpapered  and  generally  dilapidated.  It  is  in  a  district  where 
there  are  many  Catholics,  who  send  their  children  to  a  parochial  school. 
While  this  is  the  worst  building  in  the  three  counties,  there  are  others 
almost  as  bad  in  Adair  and  Sullivan  counties. 

A  few  of  the  schools  still  have  home-made  furniture.     Very  few  have 

X8 


slate  blackboards  and  not  one  has  an  indoor  toilet.  All  except  the 
model  schools  have  cross  lighting.  j[A  few  have  patent  ventilating  sys- 
tems in  connection  with  jacketed  stoves.  A  few  of  the  schools  are  with- 
out water  supply  and  over  75  per  cent,  of  them  have  as  their  only  water 
supply  unfiltered  cisterns.  The  grounds  vary  from  one-quarter  to  one 
and  a  half  acres,  averaging  about  three-quarters  of  an  acre. ;;  ^The 
playgrounds  are  usually  unsuitable,  as  they  were  donated  for  school 
purpose  because  they  were  not  good  for  farming  purposes.  Not  a 
single  flower  bed  was  found  in  any  rural  school.  There  is  no  play- 
ground apparatus. 

The  value  of  the  school  buildings  varies  from  $100,  in  a  case  like  that 
of  the  McCauley  School,  to  $1,400  for  the  model  school,  averaging  about 
$750.  The  average  levy  in  cents  per  hundred  dollars  in  Knox  County 
is  $0.51,  in  Adair  $0.59,  in  Sullivan  $0.54.  The  teachers  receive  from 
$23  to  $55  per  month  in  the  country  schools  and  as  high  as  $125  in  town 
schools,  but  the  average  teacher's  salary  is  less  than  $40  per  month.  One 
of  the  worst  features  of  the  schools  is  the  divided  term,  with  a  new  teacher 
at  greatly  reduced  salary  for  the  spring  term.  The  evils  of  such  a  system 
are  obvious — one  teacher  has  barely  got  acquainted^with  her  students 
and  secured  good  discipline  when  she  must  give  up  her  school  to  a  new 


WHERE  AMBITION  LAGS 

19 


^ 

<• 

»_ik#^fe^S 

M 

*/ "  /fc- 

Bm^'^MSfl 

Uft^tfi^Br    fc^l       -    ^1 

^ 

^ 

V^HKIH|HI 

■n 

B^^^''"' 

'^^^^^H 

■ 

!'•    ":- 

^^^ 

1 

teacher  who  has  the  whole  thing  to  do  over.  Missouri  is  one  of  the  few 
States  in  the  Union  to  retain  this  custom.  The  average  length  of  session 
is  a  little  less  than  eight  months.  The  teacher's  average  tenure  in  a  dis- 
trict is  a  little  less  than  one  year.  Her  preparation  as  a  rule  consists  in 
a  common-school  education  (or  parochial  school),  coupled  with  one  or 
two  years  at  high  school  or  normal. 

The  enumeration,  enrollment  and  attendance  for  the  three  counties 
are  as  follows: 

TABLE    [E] 


Knox 

Adair 

Sxn-LIVAN 

Enumeration 

3,581 
2,865 

67% 

6,394 
5,109 

'  ^  /c 

5,889 

Enrollment 

5,090 

Attendance 

68% 

This  means  that  there  are  15,864  children  between  six  and  twenty  years 
of  age,  and  only  13,064  enrolled  in  the  public  schools.  The  parochial 
school  in  Edina,  county  seat  of  Knox  County,  enrolls  about  250.  With 
the  exception  of  a  County  Bread  Club  and  a  County  Corn  Club  in  Adair 
County,  the  schools,  both  rural  and  town,  are  without  organization 
among  the  students.  Nearly  90  per  cent,  of  the  schools  have  libraries 
of  about  40  volumes  each. 

Next  to  the  physical  condition  of  the  schools  the  greatest  charge 
against  them  is  that  their  curricula  prepare  the  children  for  town  life 
rather  than  for  farm  life.     Until  the  recent  introduction  of  elementary 

20 


agriculture  into  the  school  curriculum  there  has  been  nothing  to  teach 
the  farm  boy  about  the  life  and  growth  of  the  things  he  works  with  and 
handles  every  day — corn,  wheat,  oats,  hay  and  garden  vegetables.  No  , 
course  to  teach  him  that  agriculture  is  as  great  a  calling  as  any  other 
and  to  make  him  see  the  deeper  significance  of  farming  and  its  economic 
place  at  the  head  of  all  the  professions.  Nothing  to  teach  him  how  to 
make  his  father's  farm  more  productive. 

With  the  schools  as  with  the  roads,  the  deficiencies  lie  not^in  the  county 
superintendents,  but  in  the  lack  of  public  sentiment  to  fight  for  any- 
thing better.  To  quote  from  Superintendent  Sipple,  of  Adair  County, 
the  need  is  for  an  "intensive  study  by  all  of  the  rural-school  problem. 
We  need  little  legislation  but  much  consecration.  We  need  little  more 
'machinery,'  but  the  ability  to  get  the  most  out  of  that  which  we  have. 
We  need  more  people  thinking,  talking  and  acting  for  good  schools." 

6.  Recreation  and  Morals — The  recreation  facilities  in  the  rural  dis- 
tricts are  sadly  deficient.  The  average  township  affords  a  little  Sunday 
baseball  at  some  village,  an  occasional  dance  at  some  home  or  in  a  hall, 
three  or  four  picnics  a  summer,  two  or  three  ice-cream  socials  given  by 
the  churches,  one  pool  room  and  one  or  two  school  entertainments  a 
year.  These  are  the  only  recreations  offered  to  150  families  in  a  given 
year.  The  recreations  provided  by  the  church,  the  school  and  the  lodge 
are  provided  not  for  the  sake  of  the  commimity  so  much  as  for  filling 
their  own  treasuries.  Nowhere  throughout  the  country  districts  is  there 
to  be  found  any  organization  which  considers  itself  obligated  to  offer 
clean,  wholesome  recreation  for  young  people  or  old. 

The  individual  morality  of  these  three  counties  is  unusually  good.  It 
is  all  Prohibition  territory  (although  there  are  many  speak-easies) . 
There  are  very  few  employed  women  and  the  employed  men  are  usually 
the  neighbors  and  the  owners  of  the  small  farms.  The  average  age  at 
which  a  girl  in  the  rural  district  marries  is  19.  In  many  ways  it  is  ideal. 
There  is  a  universal  belief  in  work;  practically  no  loafing  or  vagrancy. 
One  township  has  not  had  a  constable  for  seven  years.  The  constable 
of  another  township  is  86  years  old.  Practically  the  entire  population 
live  in  homes — typical  American  homes — and  85  per  cent,  of  the  homes 
are  owned  by  those  who  live  in  them.  Only  15  per  cent,  are  tenants. 
A  spirit  of  democracy  prevails. 

7.  The  Church — Membership  and  Distribution — Let  the  figures 
speak  for  themselves.  In  these  three  counties  there  are  180  Protestant 
churches,  159  of  them  being  used  at  least  occasionally,  and  21  of  them 
totally  abandoned.  The  ones  that  are  still  more  or  less  active  are 
distributed  as  follows:  eighty-three  in  the  country  district,  56  in  the 
villages  and  20  in  the  towns.  The  total  membership  of  the  83  country 
churches  is  4,362,  or  an  average  of  53  members  to  a  church.      The 

21 


total  membership  of  the  56  village  churches  is  3,976,  or  an  average  of 
71  [members  to  a  church.  |The  total  membership  of  the  20  town 
churches  h  4,217,  or  an  average  of  210  members  to  a  church.  The 
total  membership  for  the  151  more  or  less  active  Protestant  churches 
is  12,555.  This  means  that  23  per  cent,  of  the  total  population  of  the 
three  counties  is  in  the  Protestant  membership. 

There  are  five  Catholic  churches,  three  of  them  in  towns  and  two  in 
villages,  besides  four  or  five  little  country  Catholic  churches  which  are 
affiliated  -with  the  larger  churches,  and  whose  members  all  belong  to  and 
attend  the  larger  churches.  The  total  membership  is  2,925,  distributed 
as  follows:  1,509  in  St.  Joseph's  Church  in  Edina,  495  in  the  church  of 
Baring  village  (Knox  County),  225  in  the  church  at  Kirksville  town, 
Adair  County,  575  in  the  church  in  Adair  village,  Adair  County,  and  126 
in  the  church  at  Milan  town,  Sullivan  County.  This  means  that  5.6 
per  cent,  of  the  total  population  are  Catholics.  (A  comparison  of  this 
percentage  to  the  percentage  of  Protestants  would  not  be  just,  however, 
because  Catholics  count  as  members  all  who  belong  to  a  family  the 
parents  of  which  are  members  of  the  church).  This  leaves  a  balance  of 
71  per  cent,  of  the  population  that  belongs  to  no  church. 

A  study  of  609  families  of  farmers  in  Sullivan  County  show  that  42  per 
cent,  of  the  farmers'  families  attend  regularly,  28  per  cent,  attend  occa- 
sionally and  30  per  cent,  attend  not  at  all.  This  is  probably  a  fair  average 
for  the  rural  districts  of  the  three  counties.  Fig.  Ill  shows  how  the  poor 
man  attends  as  compared  with  the  wealthier  man.  Taking  the  size  of 
farms  as  a  criterion  of  wealth,  it  shows  that  the  owners  of  the  small  farm 
attend  church  the  least,  and  that  church  attendance  seems  to  increase 
with  the  size  of  the  farm.  Here,  again,  as  in  the  case  of  the  lodges,  what- 
ever the  cause  of  this — whether  it  be  that  the  poor  man  does  not  want  to 
go  to  church,  or  that  he  feels  that  the  church  has  no  message  for  him,  or 
that  the  church  makes  no  effort  to  get  him — the  fact  remains  that  the 
church  is  not  reaching  the  poor  man. 

Prayer  Meetings — A  few  of  the  town  and  village  churches  hold  prayer 
meetings.     The  country  churches  do  not  hold  them. 

Young  People's  Societies — Of  the  83  country  churches  only  7  have 
young  people's  societies.  The  average  membership  to  a  society  is  19. 
Of  the  56  village  churches  5  have  young  people's  societies  and  their 
average  membership  is  15.  Of  the  20  town  churches,  7  have  young 
people's  societies,  with  an  average  membership  of  11.  The  chief  aim  of 
these  societies  seems  to  be  to  keep  from  dying  out. 

Sunday  Schools — 95  per  cent,  of  the  churches  have  Sunday  Schools. 
The  country  churches  have  an  average  Sunday  School  membership  of 
4  teachers,  16  adults,  19  young  people,  18  children,  making  a  total  of  57. 
The  average  attendance  is  about  two-thirds  of  this  number.     The  \dllage 

22 


23 


churches  have  an  average  Sunday  School  membership  of  6  teachers,  16 
adults,  18  young  people  and  26  children,  making  a  total  of  66.  The 
average  attendance  is  about  two-thirds  of  this  number.  The_^town 
Sunday  Schools  have  an  average  of  8  teachers,  29  adults,  34  young  people 
and  31  children,  making  a  total  of  102  members.  The  average  attend- 
ance is  about  60  per  cent,  of  the  membership.  This  means  that  about 
9,500,  or  about  18  per  cent,  of  the  total  population,  are  in  the  Protestant 
Sunday  Schools.  The  international  ungraded  lessons  are  used  almost 
exclusively.  In  less  than  half  a  dozen  of  the  whole  159  more  or  less  active 
Protestant  churches  is  there  anything  like  a  teachers'  training  class. 
About  41  per  cent,  of  the  young  people  and  adults  are  males. 

Societies  and  Clubs — There  is  not  a  single  men's  club  among  the  159 
more  or  less  active  Protestant  churches.  There  are  eight  small  junior 
organizations,  including  one  group  of  Boy  Scouts,  but  they  are  all  in  the 
towns.  In  the  towns  and  villages  are  the  women's  societies,  about  40  in 
number.  In  the  83  country  churches  there  are  but  six  or  seven  women's 
societies. 

Every  Catholic  church  in^this  territory  has  at  least  one  men's  club,  one 
women's  club  and  one  junior  organization. 

The  Church  Property  and  Annual  Expenses — The  little  country  churches 
vary  in  value  from  $500  to  $3,000,  averaging  about  $1,200.  They  are 
practically  without  encumbrance.  They  usually  have  one  room  and  are 
equipped  with  pulpit,  organ,  stove,  oil  lamps  and  uncushioned  seats.  In 
several  of  them  the  spades  and  ^shovels  for  grave-digging  purposes  are 
to  be  seen  in  the  corner.  In  two  of  them  were  found  signs  reading 
"Don't  Spit  on  the  Floor."  The  appearance  of  the  grounds  of  the 
country  churches  varies  greatly  in  the  different  churches.  Some  grounds, 
for  example  the  Baptist  Church  of  Colony  Township,  Knox  County,  are 
shaded  and  beautifully  kept.  Others  are  unfenced,  unsodded,  unshaded 
and  uncared  for.  It  is  very  rare  that  an  outbuilding  is  found.  The 
village  and  town  churches  are  usually  without  grounds. 

The  total  amount  spent  for  Protestant  churches  in  one  year  in  these 
three  counties  is  $50,500,  which  means  a  per  capita  cost  of  $4.08^per 
church  member,  or  90  cents  per  capita  of  the  population.] 

The  average  country  church  budget  runs  like  this:  "For  minister's 
salary,  $115;  for  all  other  expenses,  including  Sunday  School,  repairs, 
incidentals  and  benevolences,  $31."  Fig.  X  shows  how  $1  of  the  church's 
money  is  spent.  It  is  based  on  the  reports  of  47  M.  E.  and  M.  E.  S. 
churches.  These  churches  were  used  for  two  reasons:  first,  because 
they  are  representative ;  and,  second,  because  their  reports  are  more  sys- 
tematically kept  and  printed  in  more  available  form  than  the  reports 
of  the  other  churches. 

If  missions  and  church  boards  be  counted  as  parts  of   the   church 

24 


WHO  ARE   IN  THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOLS 


83  Sundai^    Schools  m  Knox,  Adair   and  SuU\v/an  Counties,  Mo, 
MEMBERSHIP    IN— 


COUNTRY 


Teachers. 


461= 


65'/. 


Younq  Peo^l^ 
rt-21 
516=2 

63^0 


Children 
779=40.5y<. 


VILLAGES 


Teachers:l8  M 
69fo         W%A 


AduV 
612=2, 

6iy. 


Young  P( 

14-211 

763=2 


Children 
1 93=43.3/0 


TOWNS 
(Ouer  750) 


/./////M\  =  Males  ouer  14. 

=  females  and  children  under  14. 


25 


AFTER   THE   MORNING   SERVICE 


organization  99  cents  of  every  dollar  the  church  receives  is  spent  in 
keeping  up  its  own  organization,  and  the  remaining  1  cent  is  used  for 
benevolence  and  altruistic  work.  Is  there  justification  for  the  charge 
against  the  church  that  it  is  doing  nothing  but  holding  meetings  and 
taking  collections? 

Ministers — 92  per  cent,  of  the  country  churches,  as  shown  by  Fig.  XII, 
have  ministers  on  quarter  or  less  than  quarter  time;  8  per  cent,  have 
ministers  on  half  time.  Not  a  single  country  church  is  supporting  a 
minister  on  full  time.  Of  the  village  churches  77  per  cent,  have  ministers 
on  quarter  time,  21  per  cent,  on  half  time  and  but  2  per  cent,  on  full  time. 
Even  in  the  town  churches  15  per  cent,  of  the  ministers  are  on  quarter 
time,  50  per  cent,  on  half  time  and  but  35  per  cent,  on  full  time.  This 
means  that  92  per  cent,  of  the  country  churches,  77  per  cent,  of  the 
village  churches  and  15  per  cent,  of  the  town  churches  have  "three-hour- 
a-month  ministers" — that  is,  ministers  who  come  but  once  a  month,  hold 
two  preaching  services  on  Sunday  and  leave  the  following  day  not  to 
return  until  the  following  month.  In  these  three  counties  there  are  but 
two  ministers  who  reside  in  the  country;  but  2  churches  of  the  83  can 
claim  a  resident  pastor.  One  of  these  is  a  superannuated  preacher  who 
is  almost  iUiterate.  His  church  (he  is  on  quarter  time  and  preaches  but 
once  a  month  at  the  church,  besides  which  he  resides  on  his  two-acre  patch 
of  ground),  pays  him  from  $1.50  to  $5  a  month;  once  they  gave  him  $7. 
The  average  minister  to  a  country  church  lives  in  some  town  and  has 
four  xoimtry  charges,  one  of  which  he  visits  each  Sunday.  Very  few  of 
these  ministers  have  horses  and  buggies,  as  their  charges  are  so  far  apart 
this  means  of  conveyance  would  be  useless. 

26 


now  ONE  DOLLAR  OF  mi 
CtlURCnS  nONEIf  I5  5PENT 

BdscA     upoY>    the     Yt'Yorts     0^     1/3      Hclhodist    awA  i? 


7ce>vts 


^iAY\<i-a\i     StVv..iu\    4  <.^;;i^- 


CtlT(i    0^      NjvinWn  >(N  ^t,        (lO'-"'"^^ 


25  '^^"^ 


3  vv>i  e>c  V\' 


in"*.    y^tj" 


FIG.  X 


27 


Their  libraries  range  from  10  to  1,000  volumes,  averaging  about  200, 
although  the  bulk  of  them  will  not  exceed  130  volumes,  75  per  cent,  of 
which  are  on  theology  of  an  ancient  cast.  Less  than  a  dozen  ministers 
have  any  works  on  agriculture  and  as  a  rule  the  only  works  on  social  and 
economic  questions  are  the  text  books  of  school  days.  The  current  litera- 
ture that  the  country  ministers  of  this  territory  are  reading  seems  to 
consist  largely  in  periodicals  of  their  respective  denominations.  The 
following  sentence  at  the  bottom  of  a  church  blank  that  had  been  sent 
to  an  average  country  minister  to  fill  out  is  eloquently  descriptive  of  his 
education,  his  consecration  and  his  limitations:  "I  have  did  the  best  I 
could."  Given  his  education,  his  salary,  the  church's  exclusive  emphasis 
on  individual  salvation  and  the  overcrowding  of  churches  in  this  terri- 
tory, the  country  minister  has  done  the  best  he  could. 

Abandoned  Churches — There  are  7  abandoned  churches  in  Adair 
County,  6  in  Knox  County  and  8  in  Sullivan  County,  making  a  total  of 
21;  19  of  these  are  in  the  country,  2  are  in  villages.  If  these  three 
counties  are  representative  of  the  State  of  Missouri  in  this  respect,  there 
are  about  750  abandoned  churches  in  the  State.  It  is  to  be  noted  further 
that  these  churches  have  been  abandoned,  not  because  their  organiza- 
tions have  been  federated  with  other  organizations  (with  two  exceptions), 
or  have  moved  into  other  buildings,  but  simply  because  they  have  died 
out.  The  appearance  of  an  abandoned  church  is  usually  that  of  the 
abomination  of  desolation — windows  broken,  organ  broken,  pulpit 
broken,  seats  in  confusion,  a  bird  nest  or  two  up  near  the  roof,  and  in 
some  corner  a  tramp's  bed  made  out  of  the  folded  carpet.  It  is  safe  to 
say  that  many  other  churches  are  on  the  road  to  abandonment,  for  less 
than  half  of  the  country  churches  of  these  three  counties  are  increasing  in 
membership. 

Other  Facts  About  the  Churches — It  is  sometimes  charged  that  lodges 
interfere  with  church  attendance,  but  it  was  found  in  these  three  counties, 
as  shown  by  Fig.  XIII,  that  lodge  attendance  and  church  attendance 
seem  to  go  hand  in  hand  and  both  draw  from  the  same  classes  of  people. 
It  cannot  be  said  that  any  organization  outside  the  churches  in  these 
three  counties  is  meeting  the  religious  needs  of  the  people. 

On  the  whole  the  attitude  toward  religion  is  sympathetic,  lapsing 
among  some  people  to  indifference,  but  seldom  becoming  hostile.  While 
there  is  much  sectarianism  there  is  little  denominational  strife.  One  of 
the  things  that  impressed  the  survey  men  when  they  first  arrived  on  the 
field  was  the  freedom  and  naturalness  with  which  people,  men  as  well  as 
women,  spoke  on  religious  themes. 

If  the  churches  were  equally  cUstributed  there  would  be  one  Protestant 
church  for  every  10.8  square  miles,  but  they  are  very  unequally  distributed. 
The  23  villages,  averaging  241  persons  to  a  village,  have  56  churches, 

?8 


What  l3  Left  Of  The 

Circuit  Rider5y5T[m 

Country  Churchls-Villag[Churchls-1own  Churches-  Tota  l 


"tli 


Hi 


m 


Chur®  With  PREACfiiNG  HalfTheHme. 
CMMib  With  Reaching  ONErouRTHlHtliME, 
CHyRCHES  \NiTW  Pkeaching  Fu  llTi  m  e 
BASIS- 159  CHURCHES  IN 

KNOX   ADAIR  ^SULLIVAN  C0UNTIE5   MO. 


?9 


Four  \allaj?es — Novelty,  Newark,  in  Knox  County,  and  Gibbs  and  Brashear, 
in  Adair  County,  have  4  churches  each,  JTwo  of  these  villages  have  less 
than  225  inhabitants.  The  natural  result  of  this  overcrowding  is  to 
weaken  all  the  churches  and  to  produce  an  inversion  of  the  church's 
purpose,  so  that  their  main  effort  is  to  keep  up  their  own  organizations 
instead  of  serving  the  community  in  which  they  are  located.  There  is 
no  church  federation  or  pastors'  union,  except  in  Kirksville,  the  county 
seat  of  Adair  County.  Union  meetings  are  seldom  held,  except  on 
Thanksgiving,  and  on  occasions  of  temperance  rallies.  There  is  abso- 
lutely no  territory  here  that  would  justify  the  planting  of  a  new  church, 
for  no  spot  can  be  found  where  within  a  radius  of  5  miles  from  one  to  ten 
churches  cannot  be  reached.  What  is  needed  is  a  more  intensive  culti- 
vation of  the  field. 

8.  Social  Welfare — The  vitality  of  this  section  is  high — "distressingly 
high, "  as  one  M.D.  said.  The  average  township  has  possibly  two  persons 
over  eighty  years  of  age,  no  insane,  one  blind,  one  deaf  and  dumb  and 
two  or  three  neurotics. 

The  industrial  types  are  not  equally  distributed,  but  the  average  per 
township  is  probably  one  M.D.,  two  tradesmen  and  four  or  five  mechan- 
ics. The  rest  are  farmers.  Wealth  is  increasing  generally  through  the 
increased  value  of  land. 

A  CALL  TO  THE  COUNTRY  CHURCH 

If,  from  the  foregoing  summary  of  the  findings  of  the  survey  of  these 
three  counties,  lists  of  the  virtues  and  the  sins  of  these  counties  were 
taken  they  would  read  something  like  this : 

Virtues — (a)  Economic.  The  raising  of  good  live  stock;  good  farm 
buildings  on  the  farms  in  the  level  country;  a  single  economic  standard 
and  a  prevailing  spirit  of  democracy,  (b)  Social.  Good  morals,  tem- 
perance, industry  and  hospitality,  universality  of  work,  large  percentage 
of  land  owners  and  great  abundance  of  typical  American  homes,  (c) 
School,  Tendency  toward  model  rural  school  buildings  and  in  general  a 
gradual  increasing  of  teachers'  salaries,  (d)  Churches  are  practically 
without  encumbrance.  The  attitude  toward  religion  is  sympathetic 
and  there  is  a  good  interdenominational  attendance. 

Sins — (a)  Economic.  Bad  roads,  dangerous  culverts,  unscientific 
methods  of  farming,  poor  care  of  farm  machinery,  lack  of'cooperation 
among  farmers,  weak  agricultural  organization  and  fai'ing^to  hold  the 
boys  on  the  farm,  (b)  Social.  No  grange.  No  clubs,  literary,  sewing 
or  social,  for  farmers'  wives,  sons  or  daughters,  and  insufficient  recreation 
facilities,  (c)  School.  Not  one  consolidated  school;  one-room,  cross- 
lighted,  unventilated  buildings;  no  industrial  training;  divided  school 

30 


RECORD  of  CHURCHES 

FOR  THE  LAST  TEN  YEAR5. 

Knox.Addin  and  Sullivan  Cos,  Mo. 

GROWING 
ZCfof 


44% 


STATIONARY 


8^0  w? 


LOSING 


m 


55io 


DYING 


'o 


m 


DEAD 


IH    m 


^^ 


ORGANIZED  WITHIN  10  YEARS 

I  Ll°     4^^.^ttJ^'  ^V/LLAGE  CHURCHE5 


TOWN  mmi^ 


31 


DO  THE  CHURCH  and 
THE  LODGE  INTERFERE? 

Basis— 451  families  in 

SuUiuan  Co.,  Mo. 

NOT  lodge: 

MEMBERS 
68.170 


lodge: 

MEMBERS. 
3l.7ro 


17  7^ 


>i?se 


Zl% 


CHURCH 
GOERS 

4l.77o 


NON- 
CHURCH 
GOERS 

OCCASIONAL  34.g% 
CHURCH  GOERS 

241% 


I 


(o\% 


J  97. 


111  IJI'III  I J 


Hi 

747. 


M<o%\ 


ESHH 


□  Non-CUurch  Goers.      11  Not  Lodge  Members 
^  Occasional  Church  Goers.  ^  Lodge  Members 


Church  Goers 


FIG.   XIII 


32 


term;  poorly  paid  teachers;  poor  and  un cared  for  playgrounds;  they 
prepare  for  town  life  rather  than  for  farm  life,  {d)  Church.  Per  capita 
expenditure  for  church  purposes,  $1.11;  denominationalism ;  overcrowd- 
ing; non-resident  ministers;  92  per  cent,  of  the  country  ministers  and  77 
per  cent,  of  the  village  ministers  on  quarter  time  or  less;  doing  nothing 
but  holding  meetings  and  taking  collections. 

RECOMMENDATIONS 

The  Country  Pastor. 

This  survey  of  conditions  shows  that  in  these  three  counties  the  first 
great  need  is  pastors  living  in  the  country.  The  ministers  live  where 
they  do  not  preach  and  they  preach  where  they  do  not  live.  The  charts, 
"What  Is  Left  of  Circuit-Rider  System"  and  "A  Three-Hour  a  Month 
Minister, "  show  this  need  in  a  graphic  way.  In  one  whole  county  there 
is  not  a  resident  minister  of  any  denomination  in  the  country.  Even 
in  the  villages  few  preachers  reside.  The  proportion  in  the  towns  is 
much  greater,  and  the  bigger  the  town  the  more  ministers  live  there. 

Matching  this  condition  of  neglect  of  the  country  churches  is  the 
exhibit  of  decadence,  which  is  much  greater  among  country  churches,  as 
is  shown  in  the  chart,  "Record  of  Churches."  The  greatest  number  of 
churches  in  decay  and  the  majority  of  those  that  have  died  are  country 
churches.  The  success  of  the  church  and  its  continuance  are  de- 
pendent upon  the  residence  of  the  minister  in  the  parish.  The  dif- 
ficulties of  the  church  and  the  danger  of  its  extinction  are  greatly 
increased  by  a  non-resident  ministry. 

This  condition  has  become  ingrained  into  the  religious  habits  of 
country  people  in  northern  Missouri  and  the  surrounding  sections  of 
Iowa,  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  The  people  in  these  sections  do  not  want 
a  resident  ministry.  Church  members  and  even  church  officers  prefer 
on  three  Sundays  a  month  to  "visit  around."  It  is  cheaper  and  the 
responsibilities  are  lighter.  When  a  prominent  Presbyterian  attends 
public  worship  in  a  Baptist  church,  the  Baptists  are  glad  to  see  him.  His 
presence  increases  their  audience.  His  responsibilities  are  at  the  lowest 
point  and  his  welcome  is  the  highest,  so  that  of  course  he  favors  the 
system  which  gives  him  an  opportunity  to  visit  on  three  Sundays  of  the 
month  and  be  responsible  for  only  one  service  in  his  own  church.  The 
same  condition  doubtless  exists  in  all  the  Protestant  denominations.  It 
is  a  token  of  weak  churches  and  it  is  obvious  that  many  of  these  churches 
are  ready  to  perish. 

This  condition  would  not  be  so  significant  if  it  were  nor  universal. 
The  prevailing  custom  of  the  preachers  is  to  live  in  the  towns  at  ease, 
where  their  own  advantages  are  the  greatest,  and  to  expect  country 

33 


The  Three-Hour-A- 
month-minister. 


QmrKf^imm 


^unm  wjnmmwuiTPAiroiis 


QlURCHES  WITH  RESIDENT  PASTORS 
VILLAGE  CHURCHES 


TOWN  CHURCHES 


BASli  159  CHURCHES  m  KHOX  ADAIR  >»SUUVAN  COUHTIES  Mo. 

FIG.    IX 


34 


churches  to  support  them.  Their  only  service  is  an  infrequent  sermon, 
a  wedding  ceremony  once  in  a  man's  Kfe,  and  a  funeral  sermon  at  the 
end  of  his  days.  Few  of  the  preachers  call  upon  their  people  in  the 
country.  This  condition  has  succeeded  to  the  "circuit  rider  system"  of 
the  old  days,  but  the  "circuit  rider"  lived  in  the  country;  the  modern 
preacher  lives  in  the  town.  The  town  is  a  very  different  mode  of  life 
from  the  country  and  the  farmer  knows  it.  The  preacher  in  the  town  is 
associated  with  merchants,  middlemen  and  agents,  bankers  and  land- 
lords, and  the  farmer  thinks  of  these  people  as  different  from  himself. 
Indeed,  the  preacher  has  very  often  a  farm  of  his  own  and  is  an  absentee 
landlord,  or  he  speculates  in  land  or  follows  some  other  commerical 
occupation,  which  does  not  commend  him  to  the  farmer  as  a  spiritual 
leader. 

The  successful  country  ministers  throughout  the  United  States  live 
with  their  people.  The  work  of  a  pastor  is  far  more  effective  in  the 
saving  of  souls  and  the  building  of  churches  than  the  work  of  a  preacher. 
The  minister's  wife  does  as  much  good,  especially  in  the  country,  as  the 
minister  himself.  The  household  of  the  preacher  and  his  little  children 
exert  an  uplifting  influence  on  the  countryside.  Under  the  present  stress 
and  strain  the  leadership  of  the  pastor  is  sorely  needed  in  the  country 
community,  where  none,  as  a  rule,  reside  who  do  not  have  to  work 
twelve  hours  a  day. 

This  situation  lays  a  duty  upon  the  preachers  of  Missouri  and  sur- 
rounding States.  It  exhibits  the  great  weakness  of  the  country  churches. 
This  weakness  can  be  healed  by  the  consecration  of  the  ministers  and 
their  families  to  the  country  people.  There  is  no  devotion  to  the  country 
church  which  does  not  state  itself  in  terms  of  country  residence.  The 
preacher  and  his  family  must  make  their  sacrifice  as  definitely  as  if  they 
went  to  China  or  to  Africa  to  preach  the  Gospel. 

And  the  country  churches  must  meet  the  preacher  half  way.  The 
members  of  country  churches  are  confronted  with  the  alternative  of 
supporting  a  preacher  in  the  country  or  of  losing  the  churches  in  which 
they  have  confessed  their  faith  in  Christ.  The  liberties  and  the  ease  of 
the  "part  time  preaching"  system  must  be  sacrificed  and  the  burdens 
of  continuous  service  and  attendance  upon  one's  own  church  must  be 
undertaken.  The  financial  burden,  also,  of  providing  manses  for  pastors 
to  live  in  and  of  increasing  the  support  of  the  country  church  must  be 
undertaken  by  country  churches,  just  as  fast  as  the  people  in  these 
churches  are  prospered.  That  the  churches  of  this  part  of  Missouri  are 
able  financially  to  bear  this  burden  is  exhibited  in  the  chart,  "Can  They 
Afford  It?"  Country  people  are  contributing  at  the  present  time, 
instead  of  one-tenth  of  their  income  to  the  church  in  the  country,  only 
^  of  1  per  cent,  of  their  income.     This  cheap  and  inexpensive  church 

35 


system  gives  a  correspondingly  thin  and  poor  return.  There  is  need 
of  personal  consecration  of  the  ministers  and  financial  consecration  of  the 
people  to  build  the  strong  country  church. 

Provision  of  Social  Life. 

The  casual  meetings  of  this  population  should  interest  the  churches. 
These  casual  meetings  exhibit  the  character  of  the  people  more  than  do 
the  appointed  meetings.  Each  resident  pastor  on  whom  the  improve- 
ment of  religious  conditions  now  depends  should  cultivate  the  life  of  the 
people  in  their  relations  with  one  another.  He  should  provide  places  of 
frequent  assembly.  These  meetings  should  occur  often  enough  to  sat- 
isfy the  social  inclinations  of  the  people.  It  is  to  be  presumed  that  they 
wall  be  held  in  private  houses,  but  the  church  is  none  too  good  for  this 
use.  It  belongs  to  the  people  of  the  community,  who  built  it  with  the 
Lord's  money.  They  should  use  it  freely  in  the  interest  of  the  Kingdom. 
Nothing  is  more  near  to  the  heart  of  the  Lord  than  the  growth  of  social 
and  neighborly  feeling  among  the  people. 

These  meetings,  however,  should  be  carefully  organized.  The  pastor 
who  loves  his  people  will  study  their  needs.  He  will  find  the  purposes  to 
be  served  by  such  assemblies,  and  will  use  these  agencies  to  satisfy 
popular  needs.  One  of  the  greatest  needs  among  these  people  is  an 
opportunity  to  study  "better  farming."  In  some  States  there  are  "Six- 
teen Clubs,"  the  membership  of  which  is  made  up  of  sixteen  farmers  and 
their  wives.  These  clubs  meet  once  a  month  at  a  farmhouse.  They 
inspect  the  farm,  the  barns  and  arrangements  of  the  whole  place,  and, 
after  dining  together,  they  hold  a  meeting  for  the  criticism  of  the  farming 
methods  of  their  host.  When  the  club  makes  its  second  \'isit  to  a  farm- 
house the  minutes  of  the  previous  meeting  held  in  that  house  are  read. 
The  description  of  conditions  as  they  were  at  that  time  is  read  for  com- 
parison. These  clubs  have  had  a  great  value  in  impro^•ing  the  farming 
methods  of  their  members.  They  have  also  had  a  secondary  influence 
upon  the  whole  community,  for  everybody  learns  to  imitate  these  sixteen 
farmers.  The  method  is  capable  of  indefinite  extension,  though  it  is 
somewhat  aristocratic  in  character.  It  is  mentioned  here  as  an  illus- 
tration of  a  shrewd  device  for  accomplishing  certain  ends  in  the  country 
and  at  the  same  time  giving  incidental  social  culture  to  the  peoj^le. 

There  is  great  need  of  social  organization  of  all  country  people.  The 
farmer  is  undergoing  rapid  organization  at  the  jiresent  time,  and  it  is 
important  that  the  church,  which  is  the  only  free  institution  existing 
generally  throughout  the  country,  should  have  a  leading  part  in  this 
organization  of  country  people.  It  will  be  most  unfortunate  if  the  farm- 
ers' organizations  are  perfected  without  the  influence  of  the  church. 

36 


PROSPERITY 


The  Service  oj  the  Church  to  the  Poor. 

In  this  territory  the  farmer  with  20  or  40  acres  must  work  for  his 
neighbor.  The  methods  of  cultivating  the  land  do  not  provide  a  living 
on  so  small  an  acreage.  The  chart,  "How  the  Poor  Man  Fares,"  shows 
that  through  this  section  the  families  of  working  people  are  neglected  by 
the  churches.  They  are  represented  in  the  membership  all  too  Httle. 
To  extend  the  membership  of  the  church  among  these  small  holders  of 
land  and  among  the  hired  hands  and  among  the  tenant  farmers  who 
constitute  15  per  cent,  of  the  country  population  is  the  great  task  of 
the  church.  This  task  cannot  be  performed  by  non-resident  ministers. 
Only  the  pastor  can  give  the  patient  and  persistent  attention  to  the  needs 
of  the  poorer  members  of  the  community.  His  diligent  and  watchful 
care  is  necessary  to  tide  them  over  the  exigencies  of  life,  and,  above  all, 
to  provide  them  with  a  social  friendliness  and  to  knit  them  into  the  tex- 
ture of  the  community.  The  hope  of  the  church  is  with  the  poor  man. 
He  has  the  experience  which  begets  religion.  His  life  is  made  up  of  the 
simple  elements  which  enter  into  all  human  experience,  and  he  has  no 
other  disturbing  factor.  The  larger  land  holders  and  the  wealthy  mem- 
bers of  the  community  can  make  contributions  to  the  church  which  the 
workingman  cannot  make,  but  he  provides  the  warmth  and  the  passion 
of  religious  feeling.  The  future  of  the  church  as  a  religious  institution 
is  bound  up  in  her  relation  to  the  men  who  work  the  land.  If  the  church 
cannot  win  them  in  a  greater  degree  than  at  present,  the  churches  will 
either  die  or  become  unreligious  social  clubs.  This  is  the  great  task  of 
the  ministers  and  church  officers  in  northern  Missouri. 

37 


Good  Roads  Movement  Needed. 

It  is  true  that  in  a  time  of  bad  roads  people  can  be  religious,  and  it  is 
also  true  that  when  better  roads  come  church  attendance  for  the  time 
being  suffers.  It  recjuires  a  good  church  to  survive  and  be  strong  in  a 
time  of  good  roads  and  good  schools.  Nevertheless,  the  welfare  of  these 
three  counties  is  dependent  on  better  roads.  A  higher  character  is 
needed,  dependent  for  its  development  upon  more  intense  social  life, 
more  frequent  meetings  and  closer  cooperation.  The  use  of  good  roads 
is  essential  to  this  better  agricultural  character.  The  churches,  there- 
fore, which  are  the  watch  towers  of  the  moral  and  spiritual  life,  should 
be  interested  in  good  roads.  The  time  has  come  for  a  nobler  develop- 
ment of  the  people  of  this  country,  and  the  churches  must  lead  in  that 
development. 

The  Improvement  of  Schools. 

This  survey  was  made  possible  by  the  cooperation  of  the  Presbyterian 
Department  of  Church  and  Country  Life  with  President  Kirk  and 
Professor  Foght  and  their  associates,  of  Kirksville  Normal  School.  The 
Department  expresses  its  deep  appreciation  of  the  Christian  spirit  and 
courtesy  of  the  Kirksville  Normal  leaders.  We  commend  their  pro- 
posals for  the  improvement  of  schools  in  this  whole  region  and  desire 
to  remind  the  ministers  and  church  officers  that  the  church  and  school 
go  hand  in  hand  in  the  country.  It  will  be  impossible  to  provide  better 
churches  unless  throughout  this  whole  section  the  schools  be  improved. 
This  improvement  will  come  along  the  lines  urged  with  such  devotion 
and  intelligence  by  President  Kirk,  Professor  Foght,  Mrs.  Harvey  and 
their  associates.  The  increase  in  the  number  of  model  rural  schools  is 
a  sign  of  good  things  in  this  section.  It  promises  that  the  day  for  better 
churches  is  at  hand.  When  to  these  model  one-room  schools  are  added 
a  number  of  consolidated  and  centralized  schools,  ministering  in  the 
open  country  to  a  region  whose  radius  is  a  team  haul,  then  the  whole 
standard  of  rural  education  will  be  lifted  and  with  it  the  intelligence  and 
progressiveness  of  country  people  will  be  improved. 

Church  Clubs  atid  Societies. 

Is  it  not  strange  that  in  this  territory,  in  which  lodges  are  increasing, 
the  Christian  churches  have  made  no  use  of  the  craving  for  organization 
which  prevails  among  country  people?  One  sometimes  finds  a  minister 
joining  a  lodge,  with  divided  mind,  hoping  in  a  furtive  way  to  "influence 
somebody  for  good."  Why  does  he  not  organize  clubs  and  societies  for 
men  and  boys  in  his  own  church?  The  Catholic  churches,  which  are 
wise  in  their  generation,  do  so  generally,  as  this  survey  shows.  They  are 
the  stronger  for  this  added  bond.     The  Protestant  churches  give  to  their 

38 


members  very  little  opportmiity  for  Christian  and  social  meeting. 
Prayer  meetings  in  the  country  are  seldom  held  and  the  farmer  has  sur- 
rendered to  the  dreary  round  of  uninterrupted  labor,  with  no  promise  of 
refreshing  meetings  among  his  neighbors.  Religion  is  warmed  up  for 
him  with  no  kindly  social  intercourse.  This  is  a  great  need  throughout 
northern  Missouri.  It  is  again  a  need  that  can  only  be  satisfied  through 
the  service  of  resident  ministers.  In  every  Protestant  church  the  resi- 
dent pastor  should  have  a  brotherhood  for  men,  a  society  for  women  and 
a  club  or  guild  for  boys,  to  which  he  should  give  his  most  earnest  and 
cordial  service.  For  here  he  will  reap  the  results  of  his  preaching  and  of 
the  personal  devotion  to  his  people. 

The  last  recommendation  is  that  throughout  this  whole  territory  the 
churches  must  train  their  people  in  giving.  In  recent  years  the  farmer 
in  northern  Missouri  has  prospered.  He  is  receiving  better  prices  and  a 
fairer  proportion  of  the  profit  from  his  labor.  Of  this  he  should  give 
systematically  and  regularly  to  the  Lord.  This  prosperity  has  come  as 
a  free  gift  of  God.  It  was  not  procured  by  the  farmer,  and  he  should 
give  in  grateful  recognition  of  the  blessings  that  have  come  to  him  in 
increased  wealth  abundantly  to  the  Lord's  house. 

The  first  great  use  of  this  new  benevolence  should  be  in  increasing 
salaries  of  the  ministers.  The  work  needed  in  the  country  church  is  going 
to  leave  the  minister  no  time  to  earn  his  living.  The  farmer  now  sup- 
ports a  farm  agent  and  a  half-dozen  other  special  representatives  of 
concerns  which  he  patronizes.  These  persons  do  not  farm  the  land. 
They  live  by  serving  the  farmer.  If  the  minister  will  live  in  the  country 
he  should  have  enough  to  live  on;  and  for  the  future  of  these  churches 
the  minister's  salary,  considering  the  high  price  of  commodities  and  the 
fact  that  he  will  have  to  pay  cash  for  nearly  all  he  uses,  will  probably 
be  about  $1,000.  In  addition  the  churches  in  the  country  which  face  the 
future  with  courage  and  consecration  will  build  manses  for  their  ministers. 
When  this  is  done  it  will  be  possible  to  retain  in  the  country  serviceable 
and  useful  men.  We  do  not  think  for  a  moment  that  religion  is  de- 
pendent only  on  ministers.  It  will  often  be  true  under  any  system  that 
the  leaders  of  the  church  will  be  the  people  and  not  the  ministers,  and  the 
greater  devotion  will  be  in  the  farmer  or  in  his  wife,  but  the  present  weak- 
ness of  country  churches  in  Missouri  is  evidence  of  the  weakness  of  that 
sort  of  leadership.  The  minister  is  an  agent  of  the  efficient  church  and 
without  his  devoted  leadership  the  strong  and  active  country  church 
cannot  be  maintained. 

Ministers  of  a  new  type  are  coming  forth  now  from  the  universities, 
seminaries  and  even  from  the  agricultural  colleges.  In  the  next  ten  years 
many  such  devoted  men  will  desire  to  hve  in  the  country.  These  men  are 
the  key  to  the  problem.     The  people  now  living  in  these  counties  in 

39 


northern  Missouri  are  religious  people.  In  heart  and  in  piety  they  are 
not  excelled  throughout  the  whole  country,  but  their  churches  are  weak. 
It  is  by  the  church  that  piety  and  devotion  are  transmitted  from  man  to 
man,  from  the  farmer  to  his  neighbor,  and  from  one  generation  to 
another.  We  plead,  therefore,  for  the  strong  and  active  country  church. 
Without  a  resident  minister  this  active  and  efficient  country  church  can- 
not be  maintained.  But  the  time  has  come  when  such  ministers  can  be 
secured,  if  the  devotion  and  piety  of  country  people  will  meet  them  half 
way  with  the  necessary  supply  of  consecrated  wealth.  This  is  the  most 
needed  of  all  reforms  in  the  territory  surrounding  Knox,  Adair  and  Sulli- 
van counties.  Mo. 

Is  there  power  enough  in  the  country  church  to  take  upon  itself  the 
task  of  delivering  these  counties  from  their  sins?  Can  it  take  up  the 
task  of  securing  better  roads— take  as  its  slogan:  We  believe  in  better 
roads  and  we  propose  to  have  them — and  stick  to  it  till  it  has  won  out? 
Who  then  could  say  that  the  churches  are  doing  nothing  but  holding 
meetings  and  taking  collections?  Can  the  church  take  up  the  task  of 
furnishing  or  encouraging  agricultural  organizations  among  farmers — 
organizations  that  will  work  for  the  bettering  of  farm  conditions,  for 
more  scientific  methods  of  farming,  for  cooperation  among  farmers  and 
for  more  reasonable  financial  returns  to  the  workers  of  the  soil?     Can  it 


» 


-.r  ■» 


t    ._* 


AN    ABANDUNKD    CHURCH 

40 


THE   RENTER   AT    HOME 


introduce  into  these  communities  the  Grange  as  one  of  God's  twentieth- 
century  angels  to  the  farmer?  Can  it  offer  to  the  farmers'  wives  and 
sons  and  daughters  opportunities  for  getting  together  and  broadening 
their  minds  and  enriching  their  hves  in  hterary  and  social  clubs?  Can  it 
furnish  recreation  facilities,  clean  and  wholesome,  for  young  and  old? 
It  has  preached  long  against  Sunday  baseball ;  can  it  begin  now  the  prac- 
tice of  overcoming  evil  with  good  by  furnishing  enough  baseball  through 
the  week  that  boys  will  not  care  for  it  on  Sunday?  Can  it  take  its  place 
in  the  battle  line  beside  those  who  are  fighting  for  better  schools,  better 
buildings,  better  courses  of  instruction  and  better  playgrounds?  Can  it 
extend  a  helping  hand  to  the  country  schoolteacher  in  an  effort  to  secure 
for  her  a  more  reasonable  salary?  Can  it  champion  the  cause  of  the 
young  men  who  have  been  leaving  the  farms  m  alarming  numbers? 
They  have  been  leaving  because  farm  Hfe  has  been  less  attractive  than 
town  life,  because  their  schools  have  prepared  them  for  town  Hfe  rather 
than  for  farm  hfe,  because  of  the  drudgery  of  farm  hfe,  because  they  have 
little  opportunity  of  getting  together  with  other  young  people,  and 
because  they  have  no  opportunity  to  get  land  of  their  own;  and  they  will 
continue  to  leave  the  farm  as  long  as  these  conditions  prevail.  Can  the 
church  champion  their  cause;  can  it  throw  open  its  doors  to  them,  not 

41 


three  hours  a  month  but  three  hours  a  day?  Can  it  offer  them  a  chance 
to  play,  to  mingle  with  each  other  and  to  broaden  their  lives  in  literary, 
athletic  and  social  activities?  Can  it  take  upon  itself  the  task  of  saving 
the  young  men  not  only  for  Paradise,  but  for  America  and  American 
farms? 

To  do  this  may  demand  tremendous  sacrifice.  It  may  even  mean  that 
some  churches  will  have  to  die,  but  long  ago  the  church's  Master  died  that 
others  might  live.  Is  the  church  afraid  to  follow  His  example?  Will 
some  churches  be  wi.ling  to  die  for  the  salvation  of  their  community?  It 
may  mean  that  some  ministers  must  give  up  their  homes  in  the  towns 
to  take  up  a  two-acre  patch  of  ground  beside  a  country  church  to  live 
and  work  and  die  there  among  people  who  do  not  appreciate  or  under- 
stand.    But  the  Kingdom  of  God  will  come  nearer.     Is  that  worth  while? 


42 


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